At the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, the Portland Trail Blazers were my sleeper pick to make a run in the Western Conference. I looked like a genius early on as the Blazers won seven of their first nine games. Things quickly turned downhill though as Portland missed out on the playoffs and now enters the off-season with a boat load of needs.

Like we are currently seeing in the NFL, the 2011 NBA off-season is up in the air with a lockout looming. Free agency could be delayed and completely restructured depending on the new agreement reached by the owners and players. Still, The Sports Bank continues to break down all thirty NBA teams to see what areas they need to address in the off-season.

The Portland Trail Blazers have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, but have not gotten past the first round. This off-season, Portland looks to put the pieces together in hopes of becoming true NBA title contenders.